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Groovy Tunes; Tuesday [09/10].

Tisarwat had a job working in a music shop for a time-displaced version of the song-obsessed spaceship that would one day be her captain that the Lord of the Radch had attempted to spy on by highjacking her brain.

Surreal didn't even begin to cover it.

And it was hard to think that it hadn't even been half a year ago that the most complicated part of Tisarwat's life involved whether or not to splurge her first paycheck on a ridiculous pair of lilac eyes.

The decision in front of her now seemed much more complicated, but no less frivilous. She didn't know much about music. She was mostly here because Breq had offered, and even though she wasn't the Breq Tisarwat knew as she knew her, there was something comforting and familiar in working for her that helped get some solid ground in a whole mess of strange, unfamiliar things. So she knew she was going to spend most of her time listening to the music of this planet and trying to find the good stuff, so that if she ever got back, she could share it, but...where did she even begin? There was just so much!

Should she just go alphabetically? Chronologically? Should she just search through all the album covers and pick out what looked interesting? There was also the different methods of playing the music to consider, or maybe the instruments? She was almost desperate for someone to come into the store, even if she wound up floundering with her inexperience, just to distract her from the crippling paradox of choice.

On the bright side, she'd likely be spending so much time wallowing in indecision, that by the time she started to come around to a conclusion, it would be time for her to go home.

Groovy Tunes is open!

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Breq had turned the basement into an apartment that was comfortable enough. The basement might have its own entrance but she had made sure not to be around this morning, wanting Tisarwat to have time to find her way around the shop. It wasn't until the afternoon that she returned, this time stepping through the front door, having pulled on the gloves that she hadn't been wearing for some time.

"Good afternoon, Lieutenant."

Edited 2019-09-10 18:06 (UTC)

When the door opened, Tisarwat felt a surge of...something, not quite excitement, not quite dread, at the prospect of a customer, which was then followed by something that was not quite disappointment, not quite relief to see that it was just Breq.

Calling her Lieutenant, so in the midst of everything she was trying to figure out, her brain just fell into old routines. "Fleet Captain!" she said, straightening, and then winced. "...sir...er, I mean, Breq."

And then just decided to go with a "Hello" that she hoped cleared all of that away, shaking her head a little, and breathing out.

"It's been pretty quiet," she reported. "I've mostly just been trying to figure everything out."

The reaction wasn't the one Breq had intended, and she made her best attempt at a friendly smile.

"It's rarely busy," she said. "Not when it comes to customers anyway. I just wanted to see if you had any questions, and if you perhaps wanted some tea."

Miraculously, Tisarwat had managed enough focus to not go rushing in at both those offers with unbridled, grateful enthusiasm. "Tea would be appreciated," she said, because that was the most important part, "thank you. And as for questions...there's mostly just one big one. Where do I even start? I thought I'd maybe start listening to get familiar with the song here, but there's so much."

It was definitely no surprise to Tisarwat now that, no matter what the circumstances of her winding up on Earth, Breq had gravitated here, of all places.

"I'll make some, although I only have a teapot here. There are no flasks on Earth, I'm afraid."

She crossed the room towards the counter.

"There is a lot of music here," she agreed. "They mostly listen to it on something called the internet nowadays, but we sell music recorded on discs, like those on the shelves. And some earlier types of recording technologies too. Maybe try one CD from each genre to get an idea of what you like. This seems to be a day where you have a choice."

"There is at least one flask," Tisarwat corrected with a small swell of pride. "At least there is now. I have mine; I brought it for myself, but it's empty now, so if you wanted to use it..."

And she cast her lilac gaze around at the CDs she'd been trying to caterogrize in some sense of a logical progression since she got there. "There are a few that seemed a little more interesting then that others in each genre that I've sort of set aside as potentials," she said, her eyes then returning back to Breq, imploring, "but what would you recommend? What's your favorite?"

Of course, she knew this was a dangerous question to ask.

Because, if there was an answer, then whatever that song was, it was guaranteed to be stuck in her head for at least a week.

But she was used to that.

"A good thing to bring," Breq said. "Thank you, I'll use it."

She turned to look at the CD shelf considering for a moment.

"I don't really have one favourite, but maybe you'd like to hear this one."

She put a CD in and pressed play.

As Breq got the CD, Tisarwat got her flask, setting it on the counter for Breq to take with a weird sort of surge of displacement over the fact that her captain (although she wasn't really her captain) was about to make tea for her, which felt like it was equal parts wrong but also a little thrilling. And she almost interjected, to insist that she should be the one making it, but from what she knew of Breq...and this wasn't her captain, so if she'd offered, it would almost be just as impolite not to let her, and now Tisarwat was back in that confused spot of not knowing quite how to act around her, to think that she was just an ancillary as she was, but even that phrase, just an ancillary...

Tisarwat closed her eyes, at first just to see if that would help quiet the muddle that was her brain, feeling the encroaching, inevitable headache, and she made herself just relax and listen to the music, which seemed odd to her at first, but once the singer started, and she focused on just that, it didn't surprise her at all that Breq would pick this song or something like it. It had the simple, somewhat strange lyrics with a repetition and catchy melody. It didn't take much, especially with her eyes close, leaning her elbows on the counter, to picture herself back on Mercy of Kalr, with her Bos jokingly, reluctantly starting to sing it as they cleaned their decade room, and then catching themselves singing more in earnest, although this singer's voice was much better than most of the crew

Definitely better than Fleet Captain's.

"That was a good one to start with," she said with a small smile once it finished. "It's definitely going to get stuck in my head, too, unless something else I listen to pushes it out by the end of the day."

It wouldn't. Tisarwat would be going back to listen to it at least a few more times before she left, curious about this king, this iguana, whether there was deeper meaning or if it was all just children's stories.

"I'll select a few CDs for you to continue with," Breq said, reaching for the flask to start making tea, unaware of Tisarwat's feelings, other than that she did seem a little nervous, but that was to be expected, she supposed.

In her min she began to make that selection. There would be a pile.

At least Tisarwat wouldn't be bored.

"And from there," she decided confidently, as the CD continued on with the next song and she tried splitting her attention between it and the conversation, "I should be able to figure out where to branch off next."

"Oh, I'm sure you will," Breq said, making sure to smile. "How has your first week here been?"

She began to make tea, finding that she enjoyed using the flask again.

"It's been..." Tisarwat took a moment to sort through all the possible words she could use, "...strange." Up to and including the fact that this Breq smiled so much, which she guessed just worked well to remind herself that she was entirely different from the one she knew. "But I guess that goes without saying. It's such an odd little planet, isn't it? I don't think I've encountered anything quite like it."

Which, if that seemed like an odd thing for a seventeen-year-old baby lieutenant to say, Tisarwat didn't notice, looking at the case that the CD had come in idly.

"But it's interesting. The classes are confusing, but I like the people. And I met with Seivarden, too; I brought her tea. She's..." Different, but also the same. "...what I'd expect, from a Vendaai."

A little odd perhaps, but Breq thought her a bit precocious.

"I've heard she doesn't get along well with people here," Breq said. "It was kind of you to bring tea. I hope she appreciated it."

Well, of course not, there was no one here to be impressed by her old-fashioned accent or to romanticize her whole tragic story and antique ways.

But Tisarwat smiled, looking a bit proud of herself. "She did. And it was just as much for me as it was for her. It was nice to have something so familiar at the end of a very long week."

Something civilized. Something almost normal, though it was a little discouraging, that even what should be normal was fraught with disorientation and altered timelines. To know someone like she knew Seivarden without that person even able to recognize your face.

"I suppose that makes sense," Breq said. She threw a glance at the flask with the tea brewing, then continued: "What classes are you taking?"

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Groovy Tunes; Tuesday [09/10].

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